Zantac for Cholinergic Urticaria

June 14, 2015 by Forum Member

I found this website a few months ago, and it prompted me to finally see a dermatologist about my problem and discuss treatment options. So on Thursday I was officially diagnosed with Cholinergic Urticaria. The problem I was running into though is that I have had allergic reactions to both diphenhydramine (benadryl) and hydroxyzine (atarax) in the past, so I was worried about trying another antihistamine. We discussed various classes of antihistamines and she suggested trying Claritin first, then either switching to or adding on Zantac, along with a few other possible prescription options.

I tried the Claritin yesterday for the first time, and had a very clear allergic reaction to it as well. However I’ve taken Zantac in the past as an antacid with no problems so I know I’m not allergic to it. All of the ones I’ve reacted to have been in different drug classes, but they have all been H1 blockers, while the Zantac is an H2 blocker. This leads me to believe that I will have the same problem with any other H1 blockers I try.

Which leads me to my question. I know that Zantac, as an H2 blocker, is often paired with an H1 blocker, with the H1 blocker being considered the primary medication of the two. So I’m wondering if anyone has had any luck or even tried taking JUST Zantac as their primary form of treatment for cholinergic urticaria?

Comments

Unfortunately it looks like those are all also H1 antagonists, and due to the fact that I’ve had reactions to 3 H1 blockers in 3 unrelated drug classes, I think it’s something about how all the H1 drugs affect you’re body that mine just doesn’t respond correctly to. Which is super inconventient when trying to treat a chronic hives disorder! I’m glad you had luck with them though! I’ll keep them in mind if we do decide to give another H1 a try. Thanks!

Jen,
Sorry to hear of your allergic issues to H1 antihistamines. In the past, I did take a zantac (or pepcid, both H2) alone. It had about the same effect on me as an H1 antihistamine, which was that it did reduce the sting of cholinergic urticaria just a bit (not much).

When I did combined H2 and H1, it did provide much more relief. However, that’s certainly something I didn’t do often, and I’d strongly encourage anyone else that wants to try that to confirm with their doctor that it would be safe for them to try.

There are other meds you could try such as Montelukast (singulair). It seems to work differently than an H1, so I’m not sure if you’d be reactive to that or not. You could talk to your doctor about it, and of course, there are side effects and precautions. I’m not sure if that is safe to combine with an H2, but perhaps that could provide relief.

And of course, the biggest thing that helped me overcome my hives was removing food allergens/intolerances from my diet. Since you seem to have a cranked up immune system that is allergic to antihistamines, that may be something you want to investigate.

Thanks for the input! I’m glad to know you had as much success taking just an H2 and you did with just an H1. Wish I could pair them for a better effect, but oh well. I’ll definitely have look into the Singulair, hopefully if it works differently it won’t cause the same problems.

I’m not aware of any food allergins/ intolerances, but I’m planning on buying the book when I have the money and I’m guessing it delves into that, so it may give me an idea of what to look for.

We’ll see how it goes! Hoping something makes at least a bit of a difference, because it’s pretty severe and I’m kind of dreading the next few months now that the temperature has gone up.

I tested my body and the results were, Zantac was the one. I could go without Zyrtec, Hydroxizine, but without the Zantac, my lips would swell and I would feel like the hives we’re going to appear at any time. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to only take the Zantac! I’m just to afraid to leave out the other two for very long. I just might!

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